Decorative shredded material

ABSTRACT

A decorative shredded material having a complete pattern contained on each strip or piece of the decorative shredded material is disclosed, as well as methods for making decorative shredded material.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 12/876,626, filedSep. 7, 2010, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No.11/978,287, filed Oct. 29, 2007, now abandoned; which is a continuationof U.S. Ser. No. 11/129,871, filed May 16, 2005, now abandoned; which isa continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 10/316,818, filed Dec. 10, 2002, nowabandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/637,828, filedAug. 11, 2000, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No.09/040,940, filed Mar. 18, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,258,447, issuedJul. 10, 2001. The entire contents of each of the above-referencedapplications are expressly incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENTLY DISCLOSED AND CLAIMED INVENTIVE CONCEPT(S)

1. Field of the Invention

The presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) relates todecorative material and, particularly, decorative shredded material andthe methods of creating such a material.

2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37CFR §1.97 and 37 CFR §1.98

Sheets of material have been cut to form shredded material, first forpacking purposes, later for decorative purposes. One decorative shreddedmaterial, a decorative grass formed from shredded plastic sheets, isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,627. A process for forming plasticsheets into a decorative grass is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,292,266.Compositions for forming a decorative grass, as well as pigments used tocolor such a grass, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,700, U.S. Pat.No. 4,496,614 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,549,908.

The prior art discloses using sheets of material to shred into shreddedmaterial, and various ways to provide an overall color to each sheet ofmaterial before it is shredded. The prior art does not disclose a sheetof material having specific patterns thereon provided in specificlocations prior to shredding or flaking. The prior art does not revealshredding such a pre-patterned sheet of material having specificpatterns thereon in a manner which permits the retention of thesubstantially complete pattern on each strip or piece which is shredded.

There is a need in the art for a sheet of material having specificpatterns aligned in such a manner that the sheet may be shredded andeach shredded piece or strip of material will retain the substantiallycomplete pattern, thereby providing a new decorative shredded material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the sheet of material constructed inaccordance with the presently disclosed and claimed inventiveconcept(s), showing a plurality of patterns disposed on an upper surfacethereof, each of the plurality of patterns oriented on the sheet ofmaterial both horizontally and vertically. A corner is lifted showing alower surface of the sheet of material for illustration purposes only.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the upper surface of the first sheet ofmaterial constructed in accordance with the presently disclosed andclaimed inventive concept(s).

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a plurality of sheets of materialconstructed in accordance with the presently disclosed and claimedinventive concept(s) forming a continuous roll of sheets, the rollpartially unrolled to reveal at least one sheet of material.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a pad having a plurality of sheets ofmaterial constructed in accordance with the presently disclosed andclaimed inventive concept(s), showing an edge of the top sheet lifted,exposing the next sheet for illustration purposes only.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a roll of sheets of material constructedin accordance with the presently disclosed and claimed inventiveconcept(s), showing a plurality of knife edges being actuated by anactuator into a first shredding direction to cut at least a portion ofthe roll of sheets of material into elongated decorative strips.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a roll of sheets of material constructedin accordance with the presently disclosed and claimed inventiveconcept(s), showing plurality of knife edges being actuated by anactuator into the first shredding direction and a second cuttingdirection to cut the elongated decorative strips into smaller decorativeelements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY DISCLOSED AND CLAIMED INVENTIVECONCEPT(S)

The decorative shredded material comprises a sheet of material having anupper surface, a lower surface and an outer periphery. The sheet ofmaterial has a plurality of patterns on at least one surface, and eachpattern of the plurality of patterns is oriented along more than oneaxis. When the sheet of material is shredded into a plurality ofdecorative strips, at least one complete pattern of the plurality ofpatterns is contained on each of the plurality of decorative strips.

Alternatively, the decorative shredded material comprises a sheet ofmaterial having an upper surface, a lower surface and an outerperiphery. The sheet of material has a plurality of patterns on at leastone surface, and each pattern of the plurality of patterns is orientedalong more than one axis. When the sheet of material is shredded into aplurality of decorative elements, at least one complete pattern of theplurality of patterns is contained on each of the plurality ofdecorative elements.

In a method for providing a decorative shredded material, the methodcomprises providing a sheet of material having an upper surface, a lowersurface and an outer periphery. The sheet of material has a plurality ofpatterns on at least one surface, each pattern of the plurality ofpatterns oriented along more than one axis. The method also comprisescutting the sheet of material into a plurality of decorative strips,wherein at least one complete pattern of the plurality of patterns iscontained on each of the plurality of decorative strips.

In an alternative method for providing a decorative shredded material,the method comprises providing a sheet of material having an uppersurface, a lower surface and an outer periphery, the sheet of materialhaving a plurality of patterns on at least one surface, each pattern ofthe plurality of patterns oriented along more than one axis. The methodalso comprises cutting the sheet of material into a plurality ofdecorative elements, wherein at least one complete pattern of theplurality of patterns is contained on each of the plurality ofdecorative elements.

The Embodiments of FIGS. 1-2

Decorative shredded material is frequently used as confetti, decorativegrasses, tinsel, and the like (such decorative shredded material alsobeing called “filamentary portions”), and is used to surround otheritems in various types of gift packages.

These decorative shredded materials are often provided as a plurality ofstrips of a solid color. Alternatively, these decorative shreddedmaterials are often provided as a plurality of strips of multi-colormaterial, or material having a pattern thereon. If a pattern iscontained on the unshredded material, the material, when shredded, hascomponents of the pattern, but not a total pattern contained within eachstrip of material.

The presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) contemplates adecorative shredded material formed from a material having a printedpattern thereon, the pattern arranged so that, when the material isshredded into a plurality of discreet, separate strips, the completepattern is contained upon each strip of the decorative shreddedmaterial. In this manner, interesting patterns are formed and containedwithin each strip, as opposed to irregular, unclear and cut-apartpatterns which would occur when a patterned sheet of material wasshredded into strips.

An objective of the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s)is to provide a decorative shredded material formed from a sheet ofmaterial which, when shredded into specific strips, forms decorativestrips in which each strip contains a specific, complete patternthereon.

A goal of the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) is toalso provide a decorative shredded material formed from a sheet ofmaterial which, when shredded into specific small pieces, formsdecorative pieces (“decorative elements”) in which each decorative piececontains a specific, complete pattern.

Turning now to the Figures, shown in FIGS. 1-2 and designated therein bythe general reference numeral 10 is sheet of material. The sheet ofmaterial 10 has an upper surface 12, a lower surface 14, and an outerperiphery 16. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the outer periphery 16 furthercomprises a first side 18, a second side 20, a third side 22 and afourth side 24.

The sheet of material has printed and/or disposed on at least onesurface a pattern 25. “Pattern” as used herein, means any geometricshape, non-geometric shape, asymmetric shape, and/or combination ofshapes, which is printed or disposed via any manner known in the art onthe sheet of material 10. The pattern 25 is usually oriented along twoaxes, such as, but not by way of limitation, along the length of thesheet of material 10 and along the width of the sheet of material 10such that, when the sheet of material 10 is shredded into a decorativeshredded material, the entire pattern is contained on each strip or eachpiece of the shredded sheet of material 10. These two axes aredesignated on FIGS. 1-2 as the “a axis” and the “b axis” which, in thisexample, but not by way of limitation, are formed at a ninety degree(90%) angle with respect to each other, and apply to all Figures shownherein. It will be appreciated, however, that in other embodiments theremay be an additional axis and/or axes, each having different positionsrelative to each other.

Guidelines (not shown) may also be included on the sheet of material 10.Guidelines may be used to define the area on the sheet of material to becut, so that the sheet of material may be shredded into separate stripsor pieces without cutting substantially into any portion of a pattern 25printed on each strip or piece of the sheet of material 10.

The pattern 25 is oriented, as noted above, along two or more axes sothat the pattern 25 is contained within the specified, pre-determinedarea on each portion of the sheet of material 10. In this manner, thecomplete pattern 25 is retained on each strip and each piece ofdecorative shredded material. In addition, no substantial additionalportion of any pattern 25 on the sheet of material is included with theprimary pattern 25. In this manner, each strip or piece of thedecorative shredded material has only the predetermined pattern 25thereon.

A bonding material 26 may, optionally, be disposed on the sheet ofmaterial 10, on either the upper surface 12, the lower surface 14, orboth surfaces. Alternatively, however, the sheet of material 10 may befree of a bonding material 26. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the bondingmaterial 26, if present, is often disposed on the upper surface 12 ofthe sheet of material 10. The bonding material 26 may also be disposedin a strip of bonding material 26, although the bonding material 26 alsocould be applied to a surface of the sheet of material 10 in the form ofspaced apart spots, or the bonding material 26 may be disposed on one ormore surfaces of the sheet of material 10 in any geometric shape,non-geometric and/or asymmetric shape, or any combination thereof,including any pattern or plurality of patterns. Further, the bondingmaterial 26 may form at least a part, or, alternatively, all of thepattern 25 on each strip of material. In this instance, the bondingmaterial 26 may comprise one or more colors; the bonding material 26 maycomprise one or more patterns 25 as well, as described above.

Turning now to the characteristics of the sheet of material 10 used toform the decorative shredded material, the sheet of material 10 has athickness in a range from about 0.1 mil to about 20 mil. Often, thesheet of material 10 has a thickness in a range from about 0.2 mil toabout 10 mil. The sheet of material 10 also often has a thickness in arange from about 0.2 mil to about 3.5 mil. In some embodiments, thesheet of material 10 has a thickness in a range from about 0.5 mil toabout 2.5 mil. In other embodiments, the sheet of material has athickness in a range from about 0.4 mil to about 1.0 mil. The sheet ofmaterial 10 is constructed of a material which is at least somewhatflexible.

The sheet of material 10 may comprise any shape or combination ofshapes, and a rectangular shape is shown in FIG. 1 only by way ofexample. The sheet of material 10 for example may be square,rectangular, circular or any other geometric, non-geometric, asymmetricor fanciful shape. The sheet of material 10 may be constructed of asingle layer of material or a plurality of layers of the same ordifferent types of materials. The layers of material comprising thesheet of material 10 may be laminated together or connected together byany method known in the art.

In one embodiment, the sheet of material 10 is a thin, flexible materialconstructed from a paper. Alternatively, a plastic film may be utilizedalone or in combination with other sheets of material described herein.Such a plastic film (Hercules 8523 oriented polypropylene packaging film(clear)), is available from Hercules Incorporated, Hercules Plaza,Wilmington, Del. 19894. Such sheets of material may be laminatedtogether or may be connected together by any method known in the art, ormay remain partially or completely unconnected.

The sheet of material 10 shown in FIG. 1 is constructed from anysuitable material that is capable of being both printed on and beingshredded. The sheet of material 10 must be capable of being shreddedwithout any substantial tearing or degradation by either process(printing and/or shredding). Further, the sheet of material 10 must becapable of being shredded into decorative shredded material, such as,but not by way of limitation, confetti, decorative grass, tinsel,glitter, flakes, and the like.

As described above, the sheet of material 10 often comprises paper (theterm “paper” as used herein means treated or untreated paper, corrugatedpaper or cardboard or any other form of paper material). The sheet ofmaterial 10 may comprise cellophane, foil, plastic film, metallizedfilm, fabric (woven or nonwoven or synthetic or natural), fiber, burlap,or any combination thereof.

The term “plastic film” as used herein means a thermo-plastic resinousmaterial, such as, but not by way of limitation, a man-made polymer suchas, but not by way of limitation, a polypropylene. The term “plasticfilm” as used herein also means a naturally occurring polymer such ascellophane. A plastic film, as contemplated and described in detailherein, is relatively strong and not as subject to tearing(substantially non-tearable), as might be the case with paper or foil.

The sheet of material 10 has a length 28 extending between the first andsecond sides 18 and 20 of the sheet of material 10. The sheet ofmaterial 10 also has a width 30 extending between the third and fourthsides 22 and 24 of the sheet of material 10.

The sheet of material 10 may be constructed of a single layer ofmaterial or a plurality of layers of the same or different types ofmaterials. One or more sheets of material are laminated or bondedtogether, completely or partially, by any method known in the art, solong as the end result is a sheet of material 10 having the ability toboth sustain a printed pattern 25 thereon and to be shredded intodecorative shredded strips of material. It will therefore be appreciatedthat multiple sheets of material 10 may be used. Moreover, when multiplesheets of material 10 are used, the sheets of material 10 need not beuniform in size or shape. That is, one sheet may extend beyond at leasta portion of the outer periphery of another sheet of material.

As noted earlier, a bonding material 26 may be disposed on the sheet ofmaterial 10, in any pattern or shape. One method for disposing a bondingmaterial, in this case an adhesive, on a sheet of material is describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,637 entitled “Method For Wrapping A FloralGrouping” issued to Weder et al., on May 12, 1992 and which is herebyincorporated herein by reference. Another method for disposing a bondingmaterial in order to laminate two sheets of material is described inU.S. Pat. No. 4,297,811 entitled “Laminated Printed Foil Flower Pot WrapWith Multicolor Appearance”, issued to Weder on Nov. 3, 1981, which isalso hereby incorporated herein by reference.

The term “bonding material” when used herein means an adhesive, possiblya pressure sensitive adhesive, or a cohesive. Where the bonding materialis a cohesive, a similar cohesive material must be placed on theadjacent surface for bondingly contacting and bondingly engaging withthe cohesive material. The term “bonding material” also includesmaterials which are heat sealable and, in this instance, the adjacentportions of the material must be brought into contact and then heat mustbe applied to effect the seal. The term “bonding material” when usedherein also means a lacquer, which may be applied to the sheet ofmaterial and, in this instance, heat, sound waves, or vibrations, alsomust be applied to effect the sealing of the lacquer.

The sheet of material 10 consists of designs or decorative patterns 25which are printed, etched, and/or embossed thereon using inks or otherprinting materials. An example of an ink which may be applied to eithersurface of the sheet of material 10 is described in U.S. Pat. No.5,147,706 entitled “Water Based Ink On Foil And/Or Synthetic OrganicPolymer” issued to Kingman on Sep. 15, 1992 and which is herebyincorporated herein by reference. In addition, the sheet of material 10may have various colorings, coatings, embossings, flockings and/ormetallic finishes, or other decorative surface ornamentation appliedseparately or simultaneously. The sheet of material 10 may becharacterized totally or partially, but not by way of limitation, bypearlescent, translucent, transparent, iridescent, neon, holographic, orthe like, qualities. Each of the above-named characteristics may occuralone or in combination with other characteristics described herein, andmay be applied to the upper surface 12 and/or lower surface 14 of thesheet of material 10. Moreover, each surface of the sheet of material 10may vary in the combination of such characteristics. The sheet ofmaterial 10 may also be partially or completely opaque, translucent,clear and/or tinted transparent.

Embodiment of FIG. 3

Referring now to FIG. 3, a plurality of individual sheets of material 10a are connected linearly together to form a roll 32. The plurality ofsheets of material 10 a in the roll 32 may be connected together byperforations (not shown). Such a roll 32 permits one sheet of material10 a to be withdrawn from the roll 32, then severed or disconnected fromthe roll 32. As shown in FIG. 3, the roll 32 is often formed as acontinuous roll 32 of sheets of material 10 a, wherein a plurality ofsheets of material 10 a may be removed from the roll 32 by unrolling aportion of the roll 32, and using a separate cutting element (not shown)to sever the unrolled portion of the roll 32 of material (not shown).The roll 32 may also be contained within any type of dispenser (notshown). When the roll 32 is disposed in a dispenser, a portion of thematerial is again unrolled, and a cutting edge (not shown) containedwithin the dispenser, or a separate cutting element (not shown), seversthe unrolled portion of the material.

Any number of sheets of material 10 a may form a roll 32 as long as itis possible to unroll the material into at least one sheet of material10 a and shred the sheet of material 10 a into decorative shreddedmaterial, as described below.

Embodiments of FIG. 4

Shown in FIG. 4 is a modified sheet of material 10 b which is identicalto the sheet of material 10 shown in FIGS. 1-2 and described in detailpreviously, except that the sheet of material 10 b is formed into sheetsof material 10 b which are stacked and aligned, generally, but not byway of limitation, one on top of the other to form a pad 34 of sheets ofmaterial 10 b.

The pad 34 comprises a top sheet 36 having a next sheet 38 disposeddirectly thereunder, with additional sheets of material 10 b disposedunder the next sheet 38, all sheets of material 10 b collectivelyforming the pad 34 of sheets of material 10 b (one edge of the top sheet36 lifted for illustration purposes only). The sheets of material 10 bare generally aligned, and may optionally, but not by way of limitation,be connected together via a bonding material (not shown), such as, butnot by way of limitation, a pressure sensitive adhesive.

Embodiments and Methods of FIG. 5

Shown in FIG. 5 is a modified roll 32 c of sheets of material 10 c. Theroll 32 c of sheets of material 10 c is constructed exactly like theroll 32 of sheets of material 10 a described before, except the roll 32c is supported on a generally mounted shaft 40. At least one sheet ofmaterial 10 c is withdrawn from the roll 32 c via a leading edge 42until a predetermined length of the sheet of material 10 c has beenwithdrawn from the roll 32 c. In this position, a portion of the sheetof material 10 c is disposed under a plurality of knife edges 44 (onlyone of the pluralities of knife edges designated by the numeral 44). Theplurality of knife edges 44 are connected to an actuator 46 adapted tomove the plurality of knife edges 44 into an engagement position 47 withthe sheet of material 10 c. In the engagement position 47, the actuator46 moves the plurality of knife edges 44 in a first shredding direction48 to produce a plurality of elongated decorative strips 52 from thesheet of material 10 c. The actuator 46 also moves the plurality ofknife edges 44 in a second cutting direction 50, so that each of theelongated decorative strips 52 may be severed from the sheet of material10 c. When the predetermined length of the sheet of material 10 c hasbeen withdrawn from the roll 32 c, the actuator 46 actuates to move theplurality of knife edges 44 in the first shredding direction 48 to aposition wherein the knife edge 44 cuttingly and severingly engages thesheet of material 10 c to shreddingly cut a plurality of elongateddecorative strips 52 of the sheet of material 10 c and to sever theplurality of elongated strips 52 from the sheet of material 10 c.

It will be appreciated, as shown in FIG. 5, that the pattern 25 c on thesheet of material 10 c is specifically printed, and the printing isspaced apart upon the sheet of material 10 c and is adapted and formedto extend down each decorative strip 52. That is, the pattern 25 c isoriented primarily upon at least, but not by way of limitation, oneaxis, and usually two or more axes, which permits the pattern 25 c, inits entirety, to be contained on each decorative strip 52, with nooverlap of an adjoining pattern 25 c on each decorative strip 52, eachdecorative strip 52 containing only the pattern 25 c provided on thesheet of material 10 c for that decorative strip 52, and each decorativestrip 52 containing the complete pattern 25 c, without any loss of thepattern 25 c. The pattern 25 c conforms to the narrow decorative strip52, so that each of the plurality of knife edges 44 cuts the sheet ofmaterial 10 c in a location that does not contain the pattern 25 c. Inthis manner, the pattern 25 c remains intact and whole upon eachdecorative strip 52, as illustrated in FIG. 5.

Embodiments and Methods of FIG. 6

Shown in FIG. 6 is a modified roll 32 d of sheets of material 10 d. Theroll 32 d of sheets of material 10 d is constructed exactly like theroll 32 and 32 c of sheets of material 10 a and 10 c describedpreviously, except that the sheets of material 10 d have a pattern 25 dcomprising a plurality of hearts design printed thereon, the designbeing aligned along both the a axis and the b axis such that each of theplurality of hearts is capable of being contained on a small piece ofthe sheet of material 10 d after the sheet of material 10 d is severedinto a plurality of small pieces. The sheet of material 10 d issupported on a generally mounted shaft 40 d. At least one sheet ofmaterial 10 d is withdrawn from the roll 32 d via a leading edge 42 d(not shown) until a predetermined length of the sheet of material 10 dhas been withdrawn from the roll 32 d. In this position, a portion ofthe sheet of material 10 d is disposed under a plurality of knife edges44 d as described above. The plurality of knife edges 44 d are connectedto an actuator 46 d adapted to move the plurality of knife edges 44 dinto an engagement position 47 d with the sheet of material 10 d. In theengagement position 47 d, the actuator 46 d moves the plurality of knifeedges 44 d in a first shredding direction 48 d to produce a plurality ofshort strips 53 (only one of the plurality being referenced by thenumeral “53”) from the sheet of material 10 d. The actuator 46 d thenturns the plurality of knife edges 44 d into to a second cuttingdirection 50 d wherein the plurality of knife edges 44 d which first cutthe plurality of short strips 53 via the first shredding direction 48 dnow cuttingly and severingly re-engages the plurality of short strips 53to cut the plurality of short strips 53 into small pieces. In thissecond cutting direction 50 d, as described, the plurality of shortstrips 53 are further severed into small pieces, for use as, but not byway of limitation, confetti, and the like, for example. These smallpieces are collectively referred to herein as “decorative elements” andare designated by the numeral 54.

When the sheet of material 10 d is shredded into a plurality ofdecorative elements 54, it will be appreciated that the pattern 25 dformed on the sheet of material 10 d, such as, by not by way oflimitation, the plurality of hearts pattern 25 d shown on the sheet ofmaterial 10 d, is formed to accommodate such a formation of a pluralityof decorative elements 54 via shredding and cutting. That is, thepattern 25 d will be oriented on the sheet of material 10 d on two ormore axes such that none of the pattern 25 d is lost in the cuttingprocess, and that the entire pattern is substantially contained on eachdecorative element 54, as shown in FIG. 6. In addition, such anorientation of the pattern 25 d permits only the one, intended pattern25 d on each decorative element 54.

It will be appreciated that, rather than a roll 32 of sheets of material10, a pad (not shown) of sheets of material 10 also could be provided,and that the actuator 46 and the plurality of knifed edges 44 could beadapted such that the pad of sheets of material 10 could be cut therebyforming decorative strips 52 and/or decorative elements 54, asillustrated herein and described in detail.

It will also be appreciated that when either decorative strips 52 ordecorative elements 54 are formed from a pad (not shown), the pattern 25contained on the plurality of sheets of material 10 contained within thepad 34 will be maintained, as described previously, on either thedecorative strips 52 or the decorative elements 54.

It will be understood that the mechanical process of forming suchdecorative strips 52 or decorative elements 54 is represented onlyschematically in the drawings. The actuator 46 may comprise a hydraulicor pneumatic cylinder or a motor and gear arrangement or any other formof arrangement suitable for moving the plurality of knife edges 44 inthe first shredding direction 48 and/or the second cutting direction 50.After the knife edge 44 has cuttingly severed the desired portion of thesheet of material 10 from the roll 32 or a pad 34 (not shown), theactuator 46 is actuated to move the plurality of knife edges 44 in astorage direction (not shown) to a storage position (not shown).Alternatively, the leading edge 42 may be directed across a firstplurality of knife edges 44 (not shown) set in the surface to form thedecorative strips 52, wherein the actuator 46 actuates a secondplurality of knife edges 44 (not shown) to cross-cut the elongateddecorative strips 52 into decorative elements 54 (not shown). Apparatusand methods for making decorative shredded materials and the like isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,388, entitled, “Apparatus For ProducingWeighed Charges Of Loosely Aggregated Filamentary Material”, issued toWeder et al. on Mar. 3, 1987, which is hereby incorporated by referenceherein. Another process for forming decorative shredded material intodecorative grass is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,292,266, entitled,“Process For Making Decorative Grass”, issued to Weder et al. on Sep.29, 1981, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. Yet anotherdecorative grass is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,627,entitled, “Decorative Grass”, issued to Weder et al. on Apr. 22, 1980,which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. Compositions used forforming decorative grass are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,401,700,4,496,614 and 4,549,908, entitled, collectively, “Composition ForDecorative Grass”, issued to Weder et al. on Aug. 30, 1983, Jan. 29,1985, and Oct. 29, 1985, respectively, all of which are herebyincorporated by reference herein.

Changes may be made in the construction and the operation of the variouscomponents, elements and assemblies described herein or in the steps orthe sequence of steps of the methods described herein without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the presently disclosed and claimedinventive concept(s) as defined in the following claims.

1. A package comprising: a decorative shredded material comprising aplurality of decorative strips, said strips formed from a sheet ofmaterial having an upper surface, a lower surface, an outer periphery, afirst axis and a second axis, the sheet of material having a decorativepattern disposed on a portion of at least one of the upper and lowersurfaces thereof and oriented along the first and second axes of thesheet of material so that the decorative pattern is contained within aspecified, predetermined area on the sheet of material such that whenthe sheet of material is shredded into the decorative shredded material,substantially only a predetermined complete decorative pattern iscontained on each decorative strip and wherein each decorative strip issubstantially free of incomplete, irregular, unclear or cut-apartdecorative patterns; and an item disposed on or in the decorativeshredded material.
 2. The package of claim 1, wherein decorative patternis provided by at least one of printing, embossing and etching.
 3. Thepackage of claim 1, wherein a bonding material is disposed on at least aportion of the plurality of decorative strips.
 4. The package of claim1, wherein the decorative shredded material is constructed from amaterial selected from the group consisting of paper, foil, polymerfilm, fabric, fiber, burlap, cloth, and any combination thereof.
 5. Thepackage of claim 1, wherein the first and second axes are oriented alonga 90 degree angle with respect to one another.
 6. The package of claim5, wherein the first axis is further defined as a length of the sheet ofmaterial.
 7. The package of claim 6, wherein the second axis is furtherdefined as a width of the sheet of material.
 8. A method of providing apackage, the method comprising the steps of: providing a sheet ofmaterial having an upper surface, a lower surface, an outer periphery, afirst axis and a second axis, the sheet of material having a decorativepattern disposed on a portion of at least one of the upper and lowersurfaces thereof and oriented along the first and second axes of thesheet of material so that the decorative pattern is contained within aspecified, predetermined area on the sheet of material; shredding thesheet of material into a plurality of decorative strips of decorativeshredded material, wherein substantially only a predetermined completedecorative pattern is contained on each decorative strip and whereineach decorative strip is substantially free of incomplete, irregular,unclear or cut-apart decorative patterns; and disposing an item on or inat least a portion of the decorative shredded material.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, wherein decorative pattern is provided by at least one ofprinting, embossing and etching.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein abonding material is disposed on at least a portion of the plurality ofdecorative strips.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the sheet ofmaterial from which the decorative shredded material is formed isconstructed from a material selected from the group consisting of paper,foil, polymer film, fabric, fiber, burlap, cloth, and any combinationthereof.
 12. The method of claim 8 wherein, in the step of providing asheet of material, the first and second axes are oriented along a 90degree angle with respect to one another.
 13. The method of claim 12,wherein the first axis is further defined as a length of the sheet ofmaterial.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the second axis is furtherdefined as a width of the sheet of material.